'60 Parsecs!' Lacks Variety, But Its Simplicity Still Makes An Interesting Space Survival Game

60 Parsecs! is the survival simulation sci-fi sequel to 60 Seconds!. Both of these titles were developed by Robot Gentleman. The difference between them, however, is that 60 Parsecs! is set in space while 60 Seconds! was set in a post-apocalyptic setting.

The game begins with an introduction and a quick tutorial to set you off in the right direction. You get the choice between two starter captains of the Astro citizens program, each with their own specific set of skills. Emmet is a brainy scientist who possesses a boost that helps you receive extra items and resources from choices and expeditions you make throughout the game. On the other hand, the other captain Dee Dee excels in agility and has a boost where her hunger meter decays more slowly than usual. Even though you only have these two captains to choose from, after you finish your first playthrough you will have access to four other captains to choose from, each with their own unique skill set.

Shortly after you select your captain, you are given 60 seconds to gather whatever your hands can carry from crew members and food to other materials and resources. I wouldn't just start grabbing things at random though. Sixty seconds go by fast, and I can promise you, you won't be able to grab everything. Each playthrough, the layout of items and materials changes too, making it harder to gather the supplies you need. Once time is up, you hop in your shuttle and take off as your space station explodes, leaving everything you left behind destroyed. The game now goes into survival mode where your journey truly begins.

Your two main goals once you hit survival mode are to find a planet for you and your crew to inhabit and just survive overall. Throughout the game, you must make various decisions every passing day. You also have the ability to craft helpful items each day as well. They're not required like-saving decisions, but it's helpful to take advantage to craft something when you're able to. Whenever you can, I'd recommend making soup. You're going to need it.

To make any items from the crafting station, it's going to cost either chemicals, minerals, or energy. Some of these items can't be crafted without an upgraded crafting station, so that's something to invest in. Once you reach a planet to land on, you will also gain the option to send out one of your crewmates to go on an expedition. Keep in mind, once you send somebody out there, they're completely unavailable for a couple of days until they return. On the plus side, you don't have to worry about feeding them. I would have loved to be able to control the characters or at least see them on their expeditions.

For a game that revolves around making one decision every day, the situations that you encounter seem very repetitive. Each playthrough can go a different way depending on what items and crew members you bring with you, but the scenarios you encounter just keep on repeating. Considering the game is meant for short playthroughs, this tends to get annoying fast. Keeping in mind that this is the core gameplay, entertainment value also deters with each passing playthrough.

60 Parsecs! overall is a pretty decent game. Its cartoonish graphics and rather dark humor are appealing, along with the variety of choices you can make during playthrough. The lack of variety regarding the situations you can encounter, however, is a little disappointing. I find these kinds of simplistic games interesting nonetheless, but I can't say it's for those who seek action and more depth with their games.